Door and operating mechanism therefor



y 1951 Q R. E. DE CAMP 2,553,637

DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1951 R. E. DE CAMP 2,553,637

DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 26 26 2 @i g' 20 a" a0 29 3/ I Q za im 5% l l I I) iz m r 1 M t 1 1 301 49 i g 44 i I q e.

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DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 sheets-sheet 3 I l l i 1 I 69 INVENTOR. 4) E. 05614441 y 1951 R. E. DE CAMP 2,553,637

DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 438 EN TOR.

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DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946' 8 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. 24V .6. 050mm I, I I 4/) y 22, 1951 R. E. DE CAMP 2,553,637

DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 mum q .A g

22, 1951 R. E. DE CAMP 2,553,637

DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREEOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 H mm y -mall [N V EN TOR.

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May 22, 1951 R. E. DE' CAMP 2,553,637

DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed March 29, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. '64) f. 05 6MP I I rlrlm' Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DODR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR ration of Delaware Application March 29, 1946, Serial No. 658,344

Claims.

This invention relates to doors and operating mechanisnis therefor and has particular reference to a door construction especially adapted for thick-walled structures such as refrigerated railroad cars, trucks and the like.

In the construction of doors and door openings for structures having relatively thick walls such as refrigerated railway cars and the like, it is the common practice to provide a door opening through the wall adapted to receive a relatively thick door which is required not only to close over the door opening but to seat well within the door opening, frequently to have the outer surface of the door flush with the outer surface of the structure wall. The most common type of door in use for structures of this character are double-paneled doors, each panel being hinged in the door opening at its outside edge, requiring the panels to be swung outwardly through an arc, the radius of which is determined by the width of each of the panels of the door.

In view of the fact that the door opening must have substantial width to permit the ready loading and unloading of the vehicle, it follows that whenever the door is to be opened ample space must be provided between the wall of the vehicle and any adjacent obstruction and it frequently occurs that the vehicle is located so close to building walls or other obstructions that the standard type of door described above cannot be opened. This condition is particularly true with respect to refrigerated railway cars wherein the cars may be located upon a siding adjacent a warehouse or unloading platform disposed so close to the tracks as to prevent the opening of the doors even though there may be ample space provided for the removal of the contents of the car after the door has been opened.

With the standard types of hinged door constructions, the doors after being opened do not lie close to the side walls of the vehicle, with the result that the door is subject to being inadvertently engaged with other vehicles or stationary obstructions adjacent the track or pathway of the vehicle, resulting in accidental damage at least to the doors, if not to the remainder of the vehicle.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a door for refrigerated vehicles which when in closed position may be disposed flush with the sides of the vehicle and which when in open position will be disposed parallel to the sides of the vehicle but in close relation thereto.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described wherein the door is mounted upon tracks extending longitudinally along the sides of the vehicle and along which the door may be slid from its closed position to an open position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described wherein the mounting mechanism is so arranged that when the door is in its closed position it is disposed flush with the sides of the vehicle and is moved to open position by a series of steps which include at least a step of moving the door laterally of the vehicle out of its closed position and a second step in which the door is moved longitudinally of the vehicle away from the door opening to expose the complete area of the door opening.

Another object of this invention is to provide.

a door construction of the character described wherein the door is constructed of at least two panels hinged together at the junction of the two panels, permitting the door to be inserted into the door opening while in a bent condition with the panels partially folded together about their interconnecting hinge, the construction providing a toggle action between the door panels, aiding in the insertion of the door into its door opening and aiding in the retention of the door in tight sealing relation within the door opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door construction of the character described wherein the outer edges of the door panels are provided with interlocking means which engages cooperating means on the side edges of the door opening to hold the outer edges of the door in tight sealed relation with the door opening when the panels are disposed in the door opening and unfolded into straight line positions relative to 1 each other.

Another object of this invention is to provide a door construction of the character described with an operating mechanism which includes mechanism for opening the door by first moving the center of the door laterally with respect to the body of the vehicle to partially fold the assembled door panels and thus withdraw the side edges of the door panels away from the sides of the door opening, the operating mechanism being provided with additional mechanism for subsequently moving the outer edges of the door panels laterally with respect to the body of the vehicle to dispose the door assembly in a flat position parallel with the side of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide an operating mechanism for doors of the charan operating mechanism of the character set forth in the preceding paragraph whereinwhenthe door is in a position spaced laterally'from and parallel to the side of the vehicle, the panels are locked in the parallel position.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from a study of the'following specifications read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a side elevational view of a portion of a side of a refrigerated railway car having a door and door operating mechanism constructicn in accordance with this invention assembled together;

Fig. 2 is a view similiar to Fig. 1 but illustrating the position of the door panels and the operating mechanism during the first step of opening the door;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line III-III of Fig. 1 and illustrating the door and operating mechanism with the door in its closed position;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 1 and illustrating the door and its operating mechanism when the door is in its fully open position;

Fig. 5 is a transverse horizontal sectional View taken along line VV of Fig 1 and illustrating the position of the parts when the door is in its closed position;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 and illustrating the position of the parts in the first step of opening movement of the door;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, illustrating the position of the parts during the next step in the opening of the door;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectionalview similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating the position of onev of the panels of the door during the first step of move.- ment of the door toward open position;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view through one of the door hangers employed in th practice of this invention, the section being taken along line IX-IX of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view taken along line X-X of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view taken along line XIXI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a modified form of door operating mechanism which may be employed in the practice of this invention and illustrating,

the position of the parts with the door, in closed position;

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 12 but illustrating the position of the parts with thedoor in the first step of its movement toward open position;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 13 and illustrating the position of the parts in the next step in the operation of the door toward open position;

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of the door and operating mechanism shown in Fig. 12 and illustrating the position of the parts in the first step of movement of the door toward open position;

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15 and illustrating the position of the parts in the movement of the door and its operating mechanism toward the door open position;

Fig. 17 is a similar View to Figs. 15 and 16 and illustrating the position of the parts when the door is in its next step of movement toward open position;

Fig. 18 is a view similar to Figs: 15 and 16 and illustrating the position of the parts when the door is in its next step of movement toward closing position;

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the door operating mechanism shown in Figs. 12 throu h 18;

Fig. 20 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line XXXX of Fig. 12;

Fig. 21 is a transverse sectional view taken in the plane XXI-XXI of Fig. 19 and illustrating the position of the parts therein during the first step of movement of the door toward :closing position;

Fig; 22 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 20 but illustrating the position of the parts when the door is in its fully open position;

Fig. 23 is a vertical sectional View taken along.

line XXIII-XXIII of Fi 14;

Fig. 24 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line XXIV-XXIV of Fig. 23;

Fig. 25 is a vertical sectional view taken along line XXVXXV of Fig. .12; and

Fig. 26 is a fragmentary top. elevational view taken along line XXVIXXVI of Fig. 12.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated in Figs. 1 through .11 one embodiment of the invention as applied. to a standard railway refrigerator car though it will be understood by those skilled in this art that thesame type of con-.

struction may be readily adapted to other types of vehicles such as trucks and the like.

Door and doorway construction In Fig. 1 the side I of the standard railroad refrigerator car is shown as having a door opening 2 of standard dimensions into which is fitted a door indicated generally by the reference character 3 consisting of two separate panels 3a and 3b.

As will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 5, the side wall I of the car is constructed in the usual manner as an outer skin structure 4 and an inner skin structure 5 spaced from each other in such fashion as to accommodate the usual insulation. It will also be noted that the door panels 3a; and 3b are likewise formed with inner and outer skin members 6 and l spaced from each other to provide for the accommodation of suitable insulation, the thickness of the door panels 3a being substantially identical with the thickness of the wall structure of the side of the car.

In the usual constructicnof such refrigerator car'doors, the door frame is formed of relatively thick door frame strips such as is indicated in Fig. 5 at 8 while the edges of the door panels are similarly provided with relatively thick strips 8 of Wood or other suitable material. The door frame is usually beveled so as to be somewhat wider adjacent the outer side of the car .wall

than at the inner side thereof so that the side,

edge of the door panel meets-the edge or" the door opening along a diagonal line 9. as indicated in Fig. 5. Similarly, the upper and lower door frame strips are beveled or stepped so as to present a larger areaof opening at the outside of the car wall than at the inside thereof, the

door panels fitting into the door opening with a' wedge-like motion for the purpose of insuring a relatively air-tight seal between the door panels and the door frame.

Whereas in the usual construction of the door panels, wherein each of the panels is mounted upon the side of the car by hinges at the side edges of the door opening and wherein the meeting edges of the two panels are complementarily beveled relative to each other, the door construction of the present invention is formed with the meeting edges of the two door panels hinged together by means of a hinge shown at Ii] in Fig. 5, the vertical meeting edges of the two panels being beveled as indicated at l i and 2 for a portion of their width to provide a recess l3 for the reception of the hinge Ill. The remaining part of the width extends at right angles to the outer skin I.

With the structure thus far described, it will be apparent that the two panels hinged together at their meeting edges provides a toggle structure which will permit the two door panels, when partially folded about the hinge Ill, to present an effective width relative to the door opening considerably narrower than the door opening, that is, when the center portion of the assembled door is moved outwardly as indicated in Fig. 6, the outer side edges of the door panels will be moved bodily away from the adjacent door frame edges in the direction of the length of the side of the car.

After the door has been moved to the position shown in Fig. 6, the outer side edges of the door panels may then be bodily moved laterally from the door opening to the position shown in Fig; 7, in which both of the door panels are spaced laterally of the side of the car.' With the door panels completely free of the door opening, the entire door assembly may then be moved length-- wise of the car to completely expose the door opening therein.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the door construction is such that only a relatively small amount of motion is required to be imparted to the door panels in a direction laterally of the side of the car in order to free the door from the opening and to dispose it alongside the car in such spaced relation thereto that it may be moved entirely clear of the door opening and yet not dispose any portion of the door panels at a sufficient distance laterally of the car to interfere with adjacent building walls or other vehicles located relatively close to the side wall of the car. In fact, it is preferred that the total amount of lateral movement of the door panels should not be more than one or two inches in excess of the thickness of the door panels so that with the door in its open position it will be disposed so close to the side wall of the car as to constitute no obstruction presented to buildings or other vehicles located adjacent the side wall of the car.

The meeting edges of the adjacent door openings may be provided with sealing devices such as spring-pressed shoes indicated at H! in Fig. 5 and similar shoes it may be provided along the outside edges of the door panels to engage seats 16 formed in and extending along the vertical edges of the door opening While sealing keys i1 may be provided along the outer side edges of the door panels to be received in vertically extending keyways [8 formed in the edges of the door frame adapted to interlock with each other to not only effectively seal the door and door opening against the passage of appreciable quantities of air but also to interlock the outer edges door opening.

of the door in place within the door opening against inadvertent lateral movement when the door is in its closed position.

The employment of the key strips interengag-' ing the keyways is permitted in the door construction described herein by reason of the fact that with the door in its partially collapsed position as shown in Fig. '7, it may be inserted into the door opening with the outside edges of the door panels spaced inwardly of the door opening a sufficient distance as to permit the ready lateral movement of the door into the door opening. Then when the toggle-like structure provided by the interhinged panels 3a and 3b is straightened out by a lateral movement of the hinge between the panels, the keys and keyways will be disposed in such alignment with each other as to permit the ready reception of the keys within the keyways.

Hence with the structure thus far described the door may be effectively held in closed position within the door opening merely by providing some means which will hold the panels in their straight line relationship as shown in Fig. 5 until a door opening device is consciously manipulated tomove the hinge id laterally with respect to the Hence the door may be safely locked in place by a simple latching mechanism to be hereinafter described.

Door mounting In view of the fact that the foregoing door construction requires the operation through a series of steps consisting of, first, a movement of the center portion of the door laterally of the car, second, a lateral movement of the outside edges of the door out of the door opening, and finally, a sliding movement of the door lengthwise of the car out of alignment with the door opening, while the replacement of the door requires a reverse of these operations, namely, a sliding movement of the door to a position in front of and aligned with the door opening, then a movement of the outside edges of the door panels into the doorway opening and, finally, a lateral movement of the hinged center portion of the door into the door opening to straighten out the toggle-like structure. A door mounting must be provided which will permit the door to go through this series of steps in the desired sequence during either an opening or closing move-- ment of the door.

In Figs. 1 through 11 there is illustrated one form of mounting which may be successfully employed for the desired operation of the door as comprising an upper track 2% extending lengthwise of the car and disposed irmnediately above the door opening while a lower track 2| is similarly disposed immediately below the bottom of the door opening, the tracks supporting rolling hangers upon which the door structure is sup ported. The upper door hangers, indicated at 22a, 22b and 220, are preferably formed as substantially C-shaped body members 23, the upper leg of the C being extended to provide a bearing 2 through which extends a shaft 25 adapted to mount a roller 26 which rests upon the upper surface of the track 20. The open side of the C-shape is provided with a vertically extending pin 2'! to which is pivotally mounted one end of a short hanger lever 23, the opposite end of which is rigidly secured as indicated at 29 to a vertical hinge shaft 30.

The shaft 3!! associated with the hanger 22a extends, downwardly through a bracket 31a,

which is secured to'the' outer surface of the door panel 3afiin such position. that the'jshaft .35 is aligned, with the meeting faces of the adjacent door, panels 3a and. 3b." The shaft 3t associated with the hanger 222) extends through a bracket" 31b disposed on the same door panel 3a but at? the extreme outer edge thereof to align'the shaft 39 with the line of junction between the outer edgev of the door panel 3a and the 'adjacentside' edge of the door opening. 30 associated with the'hanger'22c. extends'down wardly through a bracket 3lc disposed in alignment with the outer'edge cf the door panel'sbq Byjreferring-particularly toFig. 9, it will be observed'that the track 2 3 is constructed wit-hi5 an, inverted L-shaped cross section, the 'hori-f zontalfleg of theflL being provided with a guide 1 strip 32 on its under side adapted to be straddled bya channel-shaped guide member 33 secured to the body member 23 andextendin'glateraliy' .20

thereof a suiiicient distance to prevent'rotation of the hanger body relative to the track but per: mitting ready sliding movement of the hanger body along the track.

Thus it will be observed thata rotation im-" 25 parted to the shaft 35 will pivot the lever 28 about its pivot pin 2'3, causing the hanger to slide along th track while at the sametime the shaft" 30 will be bodily moved laterally away from the side of the car by a distance equal to the eifec- 30 tive length-of the lever 28.

Disposed upon the. lowertrack 2! are bottom hangers 34s,. 34b and 3 20, eachof which com-.

prises a substantially C-shaped body member 35 ii having-la. vertical pivot pin 35 extending across 55 theopen side of the C to pivotally mount one end of a lever 33, the opposite end of which is rigidly secured to a shaft 38. A pair of rollers 39 is mounted upon vertical shafts secured to the lower side of the C-shaped body 35 and are adapted to engage a vertical track surface 48 formed on the lower track 2|, each of the hanger bodies 35 being provided with a flange member 4%! having a vertically extending flange 52 adapted to engagebehind a portion of the track 2! so as to prevent lateral movement of the hangers 35' away from the track.

Operating mechanism Each of the levers 37 associated with the bottom hangers is equal in length to the levers 26 employed with the'top hangers and the shafts 38 associated with each of the bottom hangers will therefore be aligned with the shafts 3B forming a part of the top mounting construe tion. Thus the shafts 39 and 38 for the top hanger 22a and the bottom hanger 34a will be aligned with each other and with the junction of the two panels 3a and 312. Thus by interconnecting the shafts 3i and 38 by means of an I operating shaft 43 both of the levers 28 and 3'! will be moved simultaneously upon rotation of the operating shaft .5.

While the operating shaft 43 may .b constructed as an integral part of the shafts 30 f and 38, it is preferred to form the operating shaft 43 as a separate assembly including an upper section 44 telescopically assembled at its upper end upon the shaft 3% and Welded thereto While a lower section 45 is telescopically assembled and 0 welded upon th shaft 38, the two sections 44 and 45 being interconnected by m ans of a bracket 46 welded to the adjacent ends of the shaft sections 44 and 45.

The bracket 46 preferably constitutes amount 7' Similarly, the shaft "10 m sse ing for"-'-anoperating' lever or handle 4i, '7 the bracket 46 and handle 41 beingsodisposed'pn the'shaft'sec'tions' and 45 that when the door is in its closed position as shown in Fig.1 the" handle 41 will lie parallel to and substantially flat against'the' doorpanel 3afThe handle is preferably of considerable length so as to pro-= videample' leverage by which the shaft assemtions of the door panels hand 31).

With the door partially collapsed by the movement of the handle 41 through an arc of the "door assembly will be in the position shown in Figi6', freeing the outside edges of the door from theirJadjacentdoor frame side jambs and the' outside'edges of the door assembly maybe then moved outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 7'. This outward movement is accompanied by"- a partial rotation of the levers 28 and 31 associated with the hangers 22b-34b and 22c'34c','

respectively, to dispose these levers at right angles to the side of the car and placing the door as-' sembly in a straight line condition spaced slightly from the side of the car as shown in Fig. 7, thus disposing the door in a position relative to its hangers to permit the door to be slid' longitudinally'along the side of the car to completely expose the door opening.

The lever '28 associated with the right-hand.

hanger 22b and the lever 31 associated with the right-hand lower hanger 34b should be operatedin unison and to accomplish this the'shafts 30 and 38 associated with these hangers are preferably interconnected by means of an operating shaft .48 which is telescopically assembled upon the. shafts 30 and 38 and rigidly secured thereto. Similarly, theshafts 30 and 38 associated with the'left-hand hangers 22c and dare interconnected by means of a shaft 49 to rigidly inter- 1 connect the associated levers and cause them to be (operated in unison.

While the shafts 48 and-49 maybe operated independently of each other and independently.

of the central shaft assembly 43 to accomplish the opening or closing motions of the outside edges of the door assembly, it is preferred to so interconnect these three shafts and the operating handle 47 that the entire'door motion may be accomplished by a manipulation of a single .5

handleA'l.

To accomplish this the shaft assembly 43 is provided with a C-shaped yoke member 50, from" the upper and lower legs of which-extend rods- 5| and 52 telescopically received in bores extending longitudinally of the shaft sections 44 and 45. -The yokemember has a pair of links 53 and .54 pivotally'secured adjacent the lower leg of the C-shape and'extending downwardly into pivotal engagement respectively with a pair of hellcranks 55 and 56. The bellcranks are pivoted, respectively/as indicated at 51 and 58, upon the door panels 3b and 3a.

The bellcrank55 has one of its legs connected to the link '53 while the other leg is coupled by means of a-link 59 'to a crank '60 rigidly secured to the shaft 49, the corresponding leg of the bell'-" j crankifi being similarly connected by means "of 11 :Sflhspaced iverticallyfrom each: other: :The". up-

per shaft element 91! has rigidly secured thereto 1 .azhorizontally, extending bar 95 .whichisspivotally connected to :the upper "leg fi ia bymeang; of a :short pin 96. Therlower shaft element 92 is similarly'providedwith aqbar 97 pivotedto'the lower Pr-11eg 94b of the handle 94 by means of a. short pin 98. It will be noted from an inspection of Figs; 19, 20and 21 that the longitudinal axis of :thepins 96; and 98 are invertical alignment with .each other and spaced outwardly fromrthe' extreme innerend of the legs 35a and 94b of the operating handle, the-inner end of the operating andle Mhaving a pin 39extendingthrough-both of,;the-;;legs'i-Ma-and94b: and through a-bellorank laterillfl.

,Secured to the'side of the car is a mounting racket iot-which may be employed as the bearng for :the lower; end ofthe upper. shaftrelernent 90:and;the upper end of the lowershait element 92. Extending laterally from ther'ibracket [Bl are a pair of bracket leaves H32 and 503, between which is pivotally mounted the bellcrank 1G9. ,c.Bywreferringparticularly toiFigs. 2.0..and 22, it gwill be observed that the .bellcrank-l 8 3 is pivoted onthe. bracket. leavesJ t2 and. ,I 03:..for rotational movement aboutan axispin. Hi4, one leg. of... the I .bellcrank,beingconnected to the operating. han- Qdle 94 at-the .pivotpoint flwhile the. opposite leg is connected by meansof apinitato a link H35 ,j whichextends lengthwise oflthe. car. to.-.-connect H with a crankllfll rigidly secured to the -operating shaft 84.

Wit1i-.the leveriandnlink system described, it M will beapna-rent that upon. moving the-operating j, handle from the. position shownin Figs. .12 and 19,through a horizontal arc of 90?..wi1l cause-the operatinglhandlea'ld. to pivotabout the pin. 93 as alcentemthuslmovingthebars liand 91 through an arc. of 90?, rotating the shaft elementsedand 9 2 torotate the levers Bl and 88 to a. position at 7 right angles to the side of .the car to thusdispose Qthe. door panels in theposition shown in-Figs. 13

and 15 in which the outer side edges of the.door are, still Within the door opening while the hinge 1ine' ofthe two door. panels will. have been moved laterally to partially. collapsethe tog le formed .between the two. door panels.

'When the operating handle 94 arrives at a z; p,oint making a right. angle withthe. (1001 132111161 .,3a, a further Jnovement, oi? the ..handle--$4:' a horizontal directionwillcause thebellcranh! Gil to begin rotating about its. pivot .pin let" .Prior to this time .the. movement, of the bellcrank -was restrained-since all. reaction force resulting from 1 the initial rotation of thehandle throughits first ;'90 of movement .wasexerted in astraightline intersecting the ,pins. SB and PM... The extreme in r, end of the operating handle 95 is prevented from movement away from the pin. Hit by reason of the interconnection ofthe .pin-i QiLandthe pin ;9 9 by the bellcrank. However, as soon as the exj tremeinnerend of the handle is free to move to the left, as viewed in Figs. 19 and. 20,. further rotational force imparted to the ,handlewill-cause the handle to. pivot about a new-center, namely, the pins 96,.and 98 which interconnectthem with the bars 95..andj91.

By referring. particularly. to Figs; 16 and 22, it nwillibe seen. that a-rOtational movementrimpartedrtothe bellcrank Mil will draw the:link

I06 to thef left, rotating the crank l5? through an arc of 90: to dispose the top and bottom levels 83.,and, 85; at right angles to, the sideof'the. car, thuspdispflsing; the panel 3,aparallel to-butspaced 12 r from. the. -door-- opening. With the rdoorthe position shown in Fig. 16, the sliding movement of--:the.-.:door. as awholermay beestarted; even thoughthe-paneifib is still :extendingat arr-angle 5-:--into the'door opening. Asthe door starts its 1on- .tgitudinal movement along theside of :the car,.the frictional resistance to the movement of -the ,top and bottomuhangers associated with =the-leftwhand side edge of the door assembly will be'such that-the shafttl @PNhiCh interconnectsthe-upper and lower-levers l l l and! E2 on the upperand iewer hangers-at the. left side edge of.-the door assembly will be rotated so. as to swing the lefthand edge of the door outwardly into alignment it-withcthe doorpanel 3a in-the. position. shown in Figs? 14. and l? and-thereafter theudoor may be '=--moved to its -final openi-position, completely. ex-

posing-the-dooropening.

'.When the edoorwapproaches its. open position andth'e panels have been'moved laterally: into alignment with:.each.other, it is desirable that 1 *they-.: should be locked in this position against inadvertent collapse back against the side of the car and'for-the urpose of accomplishing this a 5 iatehingv mechanism is *provided' to interlock'the top-hangersttaandtllc; as is illustrated in Figs. 12, l3,-'l4, and1- 26, as comprising arod -l [4 having: one of itst-endspivoted ems-indicated at 55 to a pair otbracket-members 1 l6 secured to -and forming apart of -the -.hanger--88a.- The-rod Ml it: extendslongitudinally of the side of the-car to telescopically engage a tube Ill-which. is se- Mcured. tothe hanger 800. A latch: finger .I I8 is ..pivotallymounted upon. the brackets! l6 and ex- 35..tends..a1ong.and over.:the rod I I4,. theouter end J Ml of-ithe .latch. ii-tebeingturnecl downwardly and formed with a vertical notch 120 therein, the width of which is just :sufiicient to pass the rod H4. but. insufiicientto-pass the larger diameter .9. oflthe-tube Ill.

Thus with the door in the position shown in :Figs. 14 and 17,. with the mounting. brackets 80a and 800 spaced apart at their'maximum distance, the latch-l l8 may drop-over the rod I I 4 and constitute an abutment against'which the outer or free end ofthe tube HT will bear, the length of .the tube I l'iland the effective length of the latch I is being such as to hold the twohangers'against movement toward'each other should the shaft i 1E1. at the left-hand side of the door assembly tend to rotate to permit the'left-hand' edge of the door to swing toward the side of the car.

With the-parts in this position, the door may be startedtoward its closed position by'bodily moving the door assembly longitudinally of the 'side of the car toward a position disposing the door in front of the door opening.

As the door approaches a position of alignment with the door opening, the left-hand edge 50 of the door should be swung inwardly into the door opening. To accomplish this result a cam plate l2l is mounted either directly to'theside "wall of the car above the door openingor to the t'upper track, the right-hand end or the 'cam 55 plate being beveled to engage the approaching finger N9 of the latch H8 and cause-the latch H 8 to'ris'efrom its position of engagementwith "the rod a andthe tube H1.

Thus the tube ll? may now move toward a 'iomhangeriiiia and in so doing permits the shaft HE! to rotate back through an arc of ,-disnposingthe levers Ill and H2. in their original positions parallel to the sides of the car. At this point in the operations the door assembly 7 is substantially in the position shown 1 in Figs.

13 and 16 though placed somewhat slightly to the right with respect to the door opening. Further force exerted longitudinally of the car will move the door assembly to the left until the left-hand edge of the door seats against the left-hand edge of the door opening, at which time the handle of the operating mechanism may be swung back toward its left-hand posi tion, resulting in first a rotation of the shaft 84 to move the right-hand edge of the door into the door opening and finally to allow the center hinged portion of the door assembly to move laterally into the door opening until the toggle formed between the two door panels has been straightened out and the door assembly is seated firmly in place within the door opening.

To aid in pressing the left-hand edge of the door assembly into tight relation with the lefthand side of the door opening as the door approaches its closed position, it is preferred to provide a lever mechanism illustrated particularly in Figs. 12, 13, 14, 20 and 22 wherein it will be noted that there is a keeper I25 secured to the side wall of the car immediately adjacent the left-hand edge of the door opening, the

keeper being provided with a notch I26 directed toward the edge of the door opening. Secured to the door panel 3a is a frame I21 which constitutes a pivotal mounting for a crank I28 having-a pin portion I29 adapted to be aligned with the notch I25 in the keeper I25 and which, after being engaged within the notch I25, may be rotated by a hand lever I 30 to so rotate the pin I29 in the notch I26 as to exert a relatively strong force, urging the door assembly toward the left and thus into tight engagement with the left-hand side edge of the door opening.

To prevent inadvertent injury to the crank I29 and the keeper I25, it is preferred to mount the frame I2! in such fashion that it may have a partial rotation about a vertical axis such as is shown in Figs. 20 and 22 wherein the frame I21 is mounted, not directly to the door panel surface, but is rotatably mounted upon the shaft IIil as by means of a strap I3I. A spring I32 interposed between an overhanging end I34 of the frame I21 normally urges the frame to a position of parallelism with the surface of the door panel but will permit the opposite end of the frame to be moved outwardly slightly if the operating lever I36 has not been disposed in. an unlocked position such as that shown in Fig. 14. The right-hand edge of the keeper I25 is preferably provided with a paneled surface I35 as indicated particularly in Figs. 14 and 20, which will provide a wedging interengagement between the pin I29 and the keeper I25 and will cause the frame to rock slightly about its mounting to permit the pin I29 to slide over'the keeper and into a position within the notch I26.

For the purpose of automatically moving the left-hand edge of the door into the door opening as the door is approaching its closed position, it is preferred to provide a cam plate I36 secured to the side of the car immediately below the door opening in a position to engage a dog I31 rigidly secured to the pin I38 by which the lever II2 is mounted upon the lower lefthand hanger BIc. I

By referring particularly to Figs. 12, 23 and 24, it will be noted that the dog I3! is generally cylindrical in shape but has a radially extending projection or finger I39 which, when the operating shaft I III has been rotated to dispose the levers III and H2 perpendicular "to the side of the car, will be in the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 24.

By referring particularly to Fig. 12, it will be observed that the location of the cam plate I36 relative to the left-hand side of the door opening is such that the finger I39 will be engaged. by the right-hand edge I40 of the cam plate when the door assembly is still spaced a short distance away from lateral alignment with the door opening and the location of the cam plate I36 relative to the cam I2I is such that the cam I2I will act to lift the latch member H8 out of engagement with the tube III at approximately the same instant that the finger I39 will have engaged the edge 168 of the cam plate I36.

Thus the hanger 880 will be free to move toward the hanger 80a at the same time that the dog I31 will be moved by its passage over the cam plate I36 to positively rotate the dog and the pin I38 to fold the lever II2 back to a position parallel to the side of the car. Thus a mere thrust on the door assembly in a direction longitudinally of the car toward door closing position will effectively move the left-hand edge of the door panel 36- into the door opening, aligning the left-hand side edge of the door with the left-hand edge of the door opening, ready to engage the key along that side edge of the door with the key slot in that side edge of the door opening.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that there has been provided a door construction for refrigerator cars or other vehicles in which the door, when in closed position, is seated within a door opening in such fashion as to make the exterior of the door substantially fiush with the exterior walls of the vehicle surrounding the door opening while the door may be moved to an open position exposing the door opening in the vehicle without requiring the projection of any portion of the door to any appreciable extent laterally of the vehicle wall. It will be also apparent that by forming the door of a plurality of panels hinged together along vertical axes, the door assembly so provided will act through a toggle motion to contract the effective width of the door to a width less than the width of the door opening to thereby facilitate the lateral movement of the door out of its position within the door opening and when the door is to be moved toward its closed position the toggle action will be reversed after the door has been partially moved into the door opening, with the result that the effective width of the door will be expanded into a tight engagement within the door opening.

Such door construction not only provides for a tight sealing of the door but in addition thereto makes the door substantially self-locking within the opening, it being necessary only to provide a looking or latching mechanism which will hold the hinge between adjacent panels against lateral movement out of the door opening 'in order to I maintain the door in its fully closed position.

In addition, it will be noted that there is provided a door mounting and operating mechanism by which a relatively thick door adapted to seat within a deep door opening may be arranged to be slid along the side of the vehicle as a sliding door but without sacrificing the sealing characteristics desired for such door construction, the mounting and operating mechanism providing for at least a two-step operation of the door in each of its opening' and closing movements,

namely, as one step, a sliding movement longitive lateral movement relative to the side of the "vehicle either outwardly of the door opening or inwardly toward the door opening a distance iwhich will accommodate the thickness of the doorstructure. 7 'While as hereinbeiore pointed out such a door construction as is illustrated and described hereinmay be manipulated between this open and closed position by independent manipulation of the central portion or" the door assembly and the-side portions of the door assembly, there is illustrated operating mechanisms whereby relatively simple lever and link devices .may so interconnect the central and side portions of the door as to permit the manipulation of the door through successive steps required to open or to close the door by simple movements or" a single door operating handle.

- While there is illustrated and described herein the preferred embodiments of the invention, the same is not to be limited to any or" the details of construction shown or described herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a door construction for use in door openings of thick-walledstructures, the combination of a door comprising a pair of panels disposed side by side and hinged together at their meeting side edges said assembled panelsbeing dimensioned to fit within the door opening, a hanger for each outside side edge of said door and a middle hanger for the hinged edges of said panels, all slidable along said track, a hanger lever pivotally mounted on each of said hangers, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by one of said panels and having one end rigidly connected to the middlehanger lever, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by each of said panels adjacent the outside side edge thereof, each of said last named elongated members having one end rigidly attached to the lever adjacent thereto, and means for rotating the elongated member depending from the middle lever independently of the other two elongated members to bring about movement of the middle lever between one position substantially parallel to said wall and a second position perpendicular to said wall to hingedly move said panels relative to each other to facilitate movement of the doc-r into and out of said opening.

2. In a door construction for use in door openings of thick-walled structures, the combination of a door comprising a pair of panels disposed side by side and hinged together at their meeting side edges, said assembled panels being dimensioned to fit within the door opening, a hanger for each outside side edge of said door and a middle hanger for the hinged edges of said panels, all slidable along said track, a hanger lever pivotally mounted on each of said hangers, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by one of said panels and having one end rigidly connected to the middle hanger lever, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by each of said panels adjacent the outside side edge thereof, each of said last named elongated members having one end rigidly attached to the lever adjacent thereto, means for rotating the elongated member depending from said middle leverto bring about movement of the middle lever between one position substan- 16 tially parallel to said wall and a second position perpendicular to the wall to move the associated edges of the door. laterally of the wall, operating means for moving said door laterally between a position within said door opening and a second position clear of said opening including an operating lever, means mounting said lever for movement between a first position, means connecting said operating lever to the hanger lever of said middle hanger to move only that hanger lever between its two positions when the operating lever is moved between its first and second posi tions, and means independently coupling at least one of the other hanger levers to said operating lever for movement thereby only when said operating lever is moved between its second and third positions.

3. In a door construction for use in door openings of thick-walled structures, the combination of a door comprising a pair of panels disposed side by side and hinged together at their meeting side edges; said assembled panels being dimensioned to fit within the door opening, a hanger for each outside side edge of said door and a middle hanger for the hinged edges of said panels, all slidable along said track, a.

hanger lever pivotally mounted on each of said hangers, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by one of saidpanels and having one end rigidly connected to the middle hanger lever, an elongated member extending along and'rotatably supported by each of said panels adjacent the outside side edge thereof, each' of said last named elongated mem- I for movement about a vertical axis, means coubers'having' one endrigidly attached to the lever adjacent thereto, means for rotating the elongated member depending from said middle lever to bring about movement of the middle lever between one-position substantially parallel to said wall-and a second position perpendicular to the wall to move the associated edges of the door laterally of the wall, operating means for moving said door laterally between a position within said door openingand a second position clear of said opening including an operating lever, pivot means mounting said operating lever pling said pivot means to the middle hanger lever to move the same between'its two positions when said lever is moved about said vertical axis, means mounting said operating lever for movement about a' horizontal axis, and means coupling said operating lever to at least one of the other hanger levers to move the same between its'two positions when said operating lever is 1 moved about said horizontal axis.

' side by'side and hinged together at their meeting side edges, said assembled panels being dimensioned to fit'within the door opening, a'hanger for each roiitside side edge of said door and a middle hanger for the hinged edges of said panels,

I all'slidablealong'said track, arhanger lever pivotally mounted on each' of said hangers, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by one of said panels and having one 7 end rigidly connected to the middle hanger lever,

an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by each of said panels adjacent the outside side edgethereof, each of said last named elongated members having one end rigidly attached to the lever adjacent thereto, means for Y rotating the elongated member depending from said middle lever to bring about movement of the middle lever between one position substantially parallel to said wall and a second position perpendicular to the wall to move the associated edges of the door laterally of the wall, operating means for moving said door laterally between a position within said door opening and a second position clear of said opening including an operating lever, means mounting said operating lever for movement about a vertical axis between a first position, a second position and a third position, means coupling said lever to the middle hanger lever to move only said middle hanger lever when the operating lever is moved between its first and second positions, and means coupling said operating lever to at least one of the outer hanger levers to move only that hanger lever when the operating lever is moved only between its second and third positions.

5. In a door construction for use in door openings of thick-walled structures, the combination of a door comprising a pair of panels disposed side by side and hinged together at their meeting side edges, said assembled panels being dimensioned to fit within the door opening, a hanger for each outside side edge of said door and a middle hanger for the hinged edges of said panels, all slidable along said track, a hanger lever pivotally mounted on each of said hangers, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by one of said panels and having one end rigidly connected to the middle hanger lever, an elongated member extending along and rotatably supported by each of said panels adjacent the outside side edge thereof, each of said last named elongated members having one end rigidly attached to the lever adjacent thereto, means for rotating the elongated member depending from said middle lever to bring about movement of the middle lever between one position substan- 18 tially parallel to said wall and a second position perpendicular to the wall to move the associated edges of the door laterally of the wall, operating means for moving said door laterally between a position within said door opening and a second position clear of said opening including an operating lever, means mounting said operating lever for movement about a vertical axis between a first position, a second position and a third position, means coupling said lever to the middle hanger lever to move only said middle hanger lever when the operating lever is moved between its first and second positions, means coupling said operating lever to at least one of the outer hanger levers to move only that hanger lever when the operating lever is moved only between its second and third positions, and means responsive to sliding movement of said door longitudinally of said wall for moving the other outer hanger lever between its two positions.

RAY E. DE CAMP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 712,926 Grigg Nov. 4, 1902 755,551 Richardson Mar. 22, 1904 778,250 Kennedy Dec. 27, 1904 1,051,762 Reynolds Jan. 28, 1913 1,086,603 Merker Feb. 10, 1914 1,441,349 Henry Jan. 9, 1923 1,787,302 Bakehouse Dec. 80, 1930 2,083,708 Haseltine June 15, 1937 2,108,224 Haseltine Feb. 15, 1938 2,141,353 Fuchs Dec. 27. 1938 

